Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! What a fun day to dress up as anything you'd like and bask in all of the pleasures that come with the holiday.

A quick look at my costume:

If you forgot or didn't read my movie review, I am being Shosanna Dreyfus from Inglourious Basterds.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun-filled day! And I am so excited that today commences the holiday season (in my opinion), as Halloween is the first of many wonderful holidays in the coming months. Happy Halloween!

Movie Review: Inglourious Basterds

Hello, all. 

Today I'm going to pen a quick review of the movie Inglourious Basterds. I watched it for the second time the other day, so with a fresh memory I'm going to explain what I thought about the movie.

Some things to note right off of the bat:

• The movie stars big names such as Brad Pitt. Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, and Diane Kruger, to name a few. 
• The film is directed by Quentin Tarantino, whose films are usually known for their bold and often violent natures. 
• The movie is completely fictitious. 
• The film was pretty well-received by critics and audiences alike.

Here are some pictures so that you get a feel of what the movie is like aesthetically:

Now, let's talk about my opinion of the movie. I have watched a lot of films based on WW2, but this particular picture is unlike any other film based on/during WW2. I'm going to break down the movie by what I like and what I didn't really enjoy as much. 

What I like: The movie is funny, frightening, suspenseful, and downright appalling at times, all characteristics of Tarantino's work. Christoph Waltz is brilliant, and for his performance he actually won an Academy Award. The movie features two incredibly strong female characters which is always nice to see. I also enjoyed the use of German, English, and Italian in the film to make it more realistic. Some of the nuances were brilliant too, such as the three-finger giveaway (I don't want to spoil this if you haven't seen the movie yet). And finally, Brad Pitt's character was just hilarious.

What I didn't like: Tarantino's blatant use of violence was actually difficult to watch sometimes; it might have been a tad insensitive. In a way, the fictitious nature of the movie also kind of bothered me. Of course I don't mind watching fiction, but the movie theatre scene teetered towards being a bit outrageous. 

In general, I would probably give this movie around a 7/10. It was extremely original, and the characters were developed well. The plot was dynamic, and I was able to stay interested throughout the whole movie. My only real issues were with the brutality of some scenes as well as the strongly fictitious nature of the  move. Well done, Mr. Tarantino.

As a side note, I am actually being Shosanna for Halloween. I am wearing the outfit in the picture above with her on the balcony. I love strong female characters, so she was the perfect match for my Halloween costume this year.

I hope you all enjoyed my review! Let me know what you think of the movie when you watch it! Cheers.

To Visit List

Good Morning!

I was just thinking about all of the different places that I would love to visit in the next year or two. Obviously this list could span on for many blog posts, but I am just going to mention some of the more feasible locations. I'm on a college budget right now so money is pretty tight, but you never know what can happen in any given moment.

Cicada Club in Los Angeles, CA

I will honestly admit that this one is already a stretch. Since I'm only 19, I wouldn't even be allowed inside the venue. I turn 20 in January though, so it'll only be a year from then! I certainly have to save up some money to make the trip to California, though. Anyway, I absolutely love that this venue still maintains all of its Art Deco charm from the 1920's. It looks fabulously glamorous, and who wouldn't love to swing the night away in a place like this?

Patsy's Restaurant, New York City

There are a couple of different reasons that I want to visit this restaurant. First and foremost, it was one of Sinatra's favorite places to eat. If you all haven't noticed, Sinatra is very present in my everyday life. He came from hardly anything to become one of the most prevalent icons to ever exist in American culture. It's hard to even fathom that. Having said that, I find it fun and interesting to visit some of the more low key places that he liked to visit. Patsy's is one of his favorites. Secondly, I absolutely love food. I am vegetarian, but that never stops me from demolishing a good pizza or pasta. And this place has fabulous reviews; I can't hop on the train fast enough.

Lord Baltimore Hotel, Baltimore 

This hotel is definitely a more feasible visit for me; I am only 20 minutes outside of Baltimore. Unfortunately it has been more modernized than what my palette would usually prefer, but it still maintains a decent amount of its late 1920's/early 1930's charm. I probably couldn't afford to stay here, but I wouldn't want to either considering how close it is to my home. However, I would love to step inside and look around for a few moments. Like I said in my last post, I always find it fun to imagine who walked in the hallways almost 90 years before I did.

Grand Central Terminal, New York City

Ah, Grand Central Terminal. I haven't been since I was a child, but it's one of those places that could just take your breath away. A pinnacle of American architecture. I love how it has maintained all of its grandiosity since it was built in 1871 and rebuilt in 1913. Being one of America's most iconic landmarks, I think that this should be somewhere on every vintage lovers' to-visit lists. Fortunately for me, it's only about a two and a half hour train ride to see this spectacular place. 

That's all from me for now! What are some of the places that are on your bucket lists for the next few years? 

Cheers.

The Brilliance of Fall

Hi, everyone.

Don't you just adore Autumn? I know I do. The leaves so ever-changing, the delectable cocoa warming my heart, the transition into the holiday season. What's not to love?

The other day, my sister and I took a trip to Sykesville, Maryland. We went to a park called 'Piney Run' which was extraordinarily beautiful. Here are some of the pictures we took:

As a quick side note, I love color-blocking. Color-blocking arose in the 60's, and is still extremely popular today. I opted to add a red lip (Revlon's Certainly Red) for a bit of a retro vibe with my patent Bass penny loafers. I am not a fan of jeans at all, but sometimes they pair best with what I have in my closet. 

Whenever I visit somewhere I haven't been before, I always wonder who was there before me. Who sat in the pagoda that I too found myself sitting in? Did Native Americans live among the beautiful trees of this particular park? How many people have fallen in love here?

That's the beautiful thing about history. You just might never know. 

I hope everyone is enjoying these Autumn days! It's already starting to feel like Winter here in the mornings. Make sure you see the lovely leaves before they all fall away. Cheers.

Quick D.C. Trip

Hi, everyone!

I have had four exams and one paper to write this week! Can you believe that? It's hard to believe that the semester is already half way over. Having said that, I don't have a lot of time to write this post, but I'll quickly write it so you guys can see what I've been up to lately outside of exams.

This past Sunday I took a quick trip to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. to visit an exhibit for school. The exhibit was on human evolution and is called "Human Origins". Despite what your views might be about evolution, this exhibit was incredibly well done! I highly recommend checking it out if you're ever in the Museum of Natural History. Here are some pictures:

Neanderthal child replication

After going to the Museum of Natural History, we went to the American History Museum. Now believe me when I say this, American history to me is quite embarrassing at some points. There have definitely been some times when I am not so proud to be American. However, there are also times when I am extremely happy to be where I am from and wouldn't change it for the world. Having said that, the museum itself was pretty cool. There was a lot of work being done, but I found a cool exhibit on World War 2 (which is one of the times when I am proud to be an American). Here are some pictures; please excuse my phone camera quality.

 There was a really cool section on women's involvement in the War. I love how they covered what women did in the war as well as fashion and home life too!

Liquid stockings and a bullet-shaped lipstick case! How cool is that?

Women's lingerie, war time color palette, stockings, make-up

I love how stylish the women still were despite working in factories and doing a lot of manual labor.

Here are a couple of other cool exhibits I saw at the museum:

Schwinn Bicycle circa the 60's

These TV's were all playing old television broadcasting during the Vietnam War. It felt like you were actually watching the news while the action was going on overseas!

This was found inside the restaurant, which was jazz themed. I love everyone in this painting, and I think that it is the perfect pop of color for a restaurant! 

And finally, what stop to D.C. would be complete without a picture of the Washington Monument?

I hope that everyone is having a lovely week! Cheers. 

Stores I Wish I Could Have Visited

Good Morning!

Isn't it just wild how stores go out of business, and no one future generation will ever have the pleasure of visiting them? Sad, right? It's a good thing that we have photographs and word of mouth to see and hear about some of these wonderful places. Let's look at some of the ones that I would have loved to visit!

Gimbels

Did you know that Gimbels was the first department stores to host a Thanksgiving Day Parade? What a joy it would have been to attend such an event for the first time! Furthermore, their catalogs were always chock full of beautiful clothing and goods that I would have loved to have purchased! Sadly, all good things must come to an end; Gimbels announced its closure in 1986. 

Wanamaker's

Wanamaker's was the first department store in Philadelphia, and it was also one of the earliest department stores in the USA. One of the most spectacular things about this department store is the massive organ which is located in the central atrium of the store. While the organ still exists (see the picture above), Macy's is the retailer which is located in the original Wanamaker's building. It would have been really cool to see this beautiful organ on the day that the department store first opened.

Penny Candy Stores/Sweet Shops

Ah, the days of penny candy. I can only imagine how wonderful it must have felt to receive a nickel from mom or dad, knowing that you could purchase so many wonderful sweets. While penny candy stores do exist, they are definitely more rare. I have never been to one, as there isn't one near me. However, if I ever stumble across one I will take a lot of pictures and post them on the blog!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful beginning to the week. Cheers!